Investing.com - Oil prices gave back some of their recent gains in North American trade on Thursday, as a rally which took prices to the highest level since July prompted market players to lock in gains in a bout of profit-taking.
Crude oil for July delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell 82 cents, or 1.6%, to trade at $50.41 a barrel by 13:35GMT, or 9:35AM ET, after climbing to an intraday high of $51.67, the most since July 16.
A day earlier, New York-traded oil prices rose 87 cents, or 1.73%, after data showed that oil supplies in the U.S. fell more than expected last week.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report that crude oil inventories declined by 3.2 million barrels last week to 532.5 million. Market analysts' expected a crude-stock decline of 2.8 million barrels.
U.S. crude futures prices have nearly doubled since falling to 13-year lows at $26.05 on February 11 as a decline in U.S. shale production boosted sentiment. However, with prices now at levels that make drilling economical for some firms, the rig count might start rising soon and the decline in U.S. production may slow.
Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange in London, Brent oil for August delivery dipped 75 cents, or 1.43%, to trade at $51.76 a barrel. It earlier hit $52.86, a level not seen since October 12.
On Wednesday, London-traded Brent rallied $1.07, or 2.08%, amid concerns over a disruption to supplies from Nigeria, where militants have staged a number of attacks on the country’s oil operations.
Brent futures prices are up by roughly 90% since briefly dropping below $30 a barrel in mid-February as unplanned supply disruptions in Africa eased concerns over a global glut
Meanwhile, Brent's premium to the WTI crude contract stood at $1.35 a barrel, compared to a gap of $1.28 by close of trade on Wednesday.